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L. AND H. BE-NZER. LENS FOR HEADLIGHTS. APPLICATION FILED MAR-5, l9l9- 13 1 4,45 8.. Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

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#:Mer EN 2, BY Z ATTORNEYS" Z '0 aZtaclaonr-itmuy concern y.

unirnn as ATENT voiniuion.

neUIsBENzER annnnn'mr BENZER, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK; AssIGNoiis TOTHEBanana conronarion, or BROOKLYN, EW YORK, A CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

Be it lnown that we, Louis Banana and HENRY Bl 1NZEl,,l)()ill1 citizensofthe Unlted States,- ,and residents ofthe. city-of New.

York, borough f Brooklyr, in the county of Kings and State of New York,have invented a new and Improved Lens for vl'leadlights,

of which t-he following is a full, clear, and

exact description.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in lensesfor projectors, and pertains more particularly to lenses adapted for usein head-lights of motor vehicles.

In devices of this character, it is very essential that the light raysbe projected in such a manner as to provide sufficient light to properlyilluminate the road surface, without presenting a direct glare which isblinding to drivers ofmotor vehicles approaching the lights.

It is the primary object of the present invention to obtain the aboveresult by providing a'plurality of angularly disposed" facets on theouter surface of a headlight lens.

It is a further object of the invention to so construct the lens of aheadlign. that a portion of the rays of the light beam will be directedin opposite directions transversely of the line of travel to provideillumination for the sides of the road.

Reference is to behad to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification in which similar charactersof reference indicateeorrespoiuling parts in all the views, and in Which- Figure 1 is a frontele 'ation of a lens constructed in accordance withthc present in-Vention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawhugs, the devlce comprises asnitable'piece of transparent material, such as glass, which ispreferably circular in formand is provided with a continuous bevel edge10.

The ipper section or portion of the lens is divided into a" plurality oftransversely extending curved panels or the like, 11,-and, asshown in Fg. 2, these panels 1 1. have their exposed faces inclined as show; bythe horizontal lines 12, in which lines the top edge L'ENs ronHEADLIGHTS.

facets, by means of which the rays of light thereby.

. of'each of'the panels 11 terminates.

this construction, it will be seen that the panels 11 form a pluralityof retracting are directed downwardly in passing through the lens, i

.The lower portion of the lens is divided into a plurahty oftransversely extending it panels '13, each of which is wider than. theupper c\ll'\c(l panels 11. In the panels 13, in spaced relation, aretriangularly shaped plane surfaccsl-i. The spacc'betwecn the ends of thepanels-13 and the plane surfaces 1'4, and the space between the planesurfaces 11, are concave in the direction of the length of the panels,as shown in Fig. 3. By concaving the spaces between the plane surfaces14', retracting facets 15 are formed, and it is the purpose of. theseretracting facetslfi to project the light rays passing through the lowerportion of the lens, in a direction snbl stantially trans\"crse thereof.As shown by the horizontal walls 16, the lower edge of cachof the panels'13 is higher than the upper edge thereof, and in addition to the "facetIt at the bottom of the lens.'

. From the foregoingdescription, 1t will be seen that if this lens isplaced in position in a headlight,- ihal. portion of the light beamwhich passes through thc curved rcfracting panels 11. will be projecteddownwardly The portion of the light beam which passes through theconcave panels 13 will be projected in opposite directions to the sideof the light, thus providing suitable .means for illuminating the sidesof a road whcn the device is used for motor vehicle headlights. Thatportion of the light beam which passes through the surface 17 will bedirected downwardly in the same manner as the portion of light passingthrough the panels 11.

Tn actual practice, it has been found that if the concave facets 15 wereterminated in a straight line instead of triangular plane Patented-Au".26,1919.

surfaces, such as 14, glaring beams of light would be projectedtherethrough. However, the forming of these plane surfaces l l as abovedescribed, entirely eliminates the pro- Jection of glaring beams of.light at the ends of the concave facets 15.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present inventionprovides a lens for headlights of all types, in which the glare isentirely eliminated without detractmg in any degree from the eflici'encyof the lens from a standpoint of illumination.

Having thus described our invention, We claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent:

1. A lens for headlights having its upper portion divided into aplurality of transversely extending arcuate prismatic surfaces, the endsof which lie in a plane above the intermediate portions thereof, aplurality of transversely concave parallel prismatic surfaces in thelower portion of said lens, and triangular plane surfaces interposedbetweensaid transversely concave prismatic surfaces.

2. A lens for headlights having its upper portion divided into aplurality of transversely extending arcuate prismatic surfaces,

a plurality of transversely concave and angula-rly disposed prismaticsurfaces in the lower portion of said lens, and triangularly shapedplane surfaces separating the transversely concave angular surfaces inthe lower portion of sald lens, said triangularly shaped plane surfacesbeing staggered With respect each to the other.

LOUIS BEN ZER. HEN RY- BEN ZER.

